Texas Prisons: The Walls Came Tumbling Down - Hardcover

Martin, Steve J.; Ekland-Olson, Sheldon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0877190909 ISBN 13: 9780877190905

Publisher: Texas Monthly Pr, 1987

Synopsis

Relates the history of a bitterly contested prison reform case in the American judicial system

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In this history of Texas prison reform, the authors note that for many years prison inmates were considered "slaves of the state," a situation that had been somewhat ameliorated by the 1960s, although the system remained brutal and repressive. Most controversial were overcrowded conditions and the use of trusties to enforce discipline. In 1967 prisoner-advocacy lawyers became involved and since then the Texas Department of Corrections has been revamped and the prisons altered. Ex-prison guard and ex-special assistant state attorney general Martin and University of Texas sociology professor Ekland-Olson here detail the process by which changes were made, with emphasis on a pivotal case, the Ruiz v. Estelle class-action suit. The book will be of interest to penologists, criminologists and sociologists but is too regional and specialized for general readers outside the Lone Star State. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas Monthly Pr
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0877190909
• ISBN 13: 9780877190905
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 289